Examining table



Dec. 9, 1941.

DEMCAK EXAMINING' TABLE Original Filed Sept. 25, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 'lDec. 9, 1941. A. DEMCAK Re. 21,972

EXAMINING TABLE Original Filed Sept. 25, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q'zzczrauD6772 (Ta/ AW @ZLW Reissued Dec. 9, 1941 EXAIWINING TABLE Andrew Demcak,Two Rivers,

Wis., assignor to Hamilton Manufacturing Company, Two Rivcrs, Wis., acorporation of Wisconsin Original No. 2,177,341, dated October 24, 1939,Serial No. 102,459, September 25, 1936. Application for reissue August11, 1941, Serial No.

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an examining table or the like moreparticularly for the use of physicians and surgeons in their consultingoffices.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an examining table whichhas a full range and variety of precision adjustments and which at thesame time has its mechanism substantially concealed within an attractivecabinet support. The cabinet is desirably finished to have theappearance of ornamental wood to enhance its harmony with theenvironment of a consultation oflice rather than an operating room.

The invention also provides improved mechanism for affording possibleadjustments of the members upon which the patient rests duringexamination, including not only means for adjusting these rest membersangularly with respect to each other and to the cabinet but also meansfor moving the rest members in a common plane toward and from thecabinet.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent, and the invention will bereadily understood, by reference to the following detailed descriptiontogether with the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view of an examining table embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the table of Fig. 1 on a largerscale and being a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

Figure 3 is a cross section 33 of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is another cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 21;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail view on a still larger scale, being asection taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Figure 6 is a series of diagrammatic views showing several possibleadjusted positions of the parts.

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown in thedrawings, the cabinet l0 having legs ll provides a support for the usualrest members l2 and I3 upon which the patient may recline, these restmembers being desirably padded in the usual manner as shown at M (Fig.2). One of these rest members, in this instance the member l2, may belonger than the other, as is customary in devices of this kind. Thecabinet l0 also provides a concealing housing for the mechanism foradjustably supporting the rest members.

In this instance the rest members l2 and 13 are pivoted together at l5.As here shown the side plates 16 and taken on the line ill I1 rigidrespectively with the 55 rest members l2, l3 are projected from thesemembers at their adjacent edges and overlapped, the screw l8 (Fig. 3)passing through perforations in the pivot ears thus formed and into thebar I9, this bar thus providing a common pivot point for the restmembers.

Extension supports are provided for each of the rest members, suchextension supports being here shown in the form of lifter rods or barsin the case of the rest member l2 including two upright ratchet bars 20and 2l which are pivoted at 22 to a bracket 23 for each bar, suitablysecured adjacent opposite margins of the rest member l2 and on the underside thereof.

Similarly the rest member [3 is adjustably supported by extensionmembers such as the ratchet bar 24 which is pivoted at 25 to the bracket26 carried on the under side of the rest member l3. It will beunderstood that there may be two bars such as the bar 24.

The extension members just referred to pass through slots such as slot21 in the top 28 of the cabinet l0 and down into the interior of thecabinet.

Associated with each of the ratchet bars just referred to, is detentmeans 29 only one of which need be described, they being substantiallythe same. These detent means are mounted within the cabinet on a rockshaft 30 for the rest member l2, and 3| for the rest member l3, thedetent means being relatively rotatable with respect to the rock shaft.

Each of the detent means 29 as here constructed, comprises a rectangularcasing having the side walls 32 and 33, and end Wall 34, the side wallsembracing one of the ratchet bars which passes snugly therethrough beingheld from lateral movement with respect to the detent means by thesewalls, and also by rollers 35 carried by the casing Walls 32, '33between which and guide plates 36, also carried by these walls, theratchet bar may reciprocate as the rest members are moved up or down.Mounted on the rock shaft and pinned thereto within the Walls 32, 33 isa pawl 31 which is engageable with ratchet teeth 38 on the ratchet bars,these parts being formed so that when the pawl is in engagement with theteeth the ratchet bar is held against downward movement but may be movedupwardly. Handles 39, 40 respectively for the rock shafts 30 and 3| eachcontrol the detent means for their respective rest members, by movingthe pawls into or out of engagement with the ratchet teeth. It will benoted that as thus constructed and arranged each of the detent means 29may pivot on its respective rock shaft to accommodate itself to theposition toward or slightly from the vertical, assumed by the ratchetbars as the rest members are raised or lowered.

The rock shaft 30, 3| as the case may be, is resiliently held inrotative position (so that the pawls fixed thereto are in engagementwith the ratchet teeth) by expansion springs 4| hooked at one end as atlever finger 42 to the rock shaft, and at the other end as at 43 to awall of the cabinet. Means is provided for releasably retaining thepawls out of engagement with the ratchet bars when the rock shafts arerotated against the force of the springs 4|. As here shown the pawl 31is extended by a lever arm 44 to which is flexibly connected a link 45having a notch 46 on its upper edge. This link passes under the loweredge of the wall 34 and its outer end 41 is supported by an expansionspring 48 which is hooked at its upper end as at 49 to the upper edge ofthe wall 34. Thus when the rock shaft is rotated against the force ofthe spring 4| to release the pawl as shown in full lines in Fig. 2(which may be done by rotating the handle 40, for example, manuallyupwardly) the lower edge of the wall 34 engages within the notch 46 andthe link 45 is resiliently held therein by the spring 48, preventing thespring 4| from rotating the pawl. Then the rest member may be loweredand to lock the member in lowered position the handle may be presseddownwardly, which forces the notch 46 out of engagement to restore therock shaft to the influence of the spring 4|. It will be understood thatthe edge of the notch 46 nearest the pawl may be so shaped that thespring 4| is not strong enough to cam the notch out of engagement withthe wall 34 against the force of the spring 48, while this may be doneby manually applied pressure to the handle 40, cumulative to the forceof the spring 4| In accordance with the invention the common pivot pointof the rest members |2 and I3 is itself movable toward and from thecabinet. To accomplish this, elevator means are provided for raising andlowering the pivot bar l9. As here shown this bar is supported byupright rack bars 50 and one at each side of the table and receivedwithin the cabinet, as by passing through slots 52 in the upper wall 28thereof and slots 53 in the lower wall 54 thereof. For supporting andvertically reciprocating the rack bars 50, 5|, mechanism is providedincluding the gear wheels 55, one of which is journaled in each of theeasings 56, carried within and at each side of the cabinet H] as bybeing suspended from the upper wall 28 thereof by bolts 51. Each ofthese gear wheels has gear teeth 58 engaging and meshing with the gearteeth 59 on one of the rack bars 50 or 5| as the case may be. To rotatethe gear wheels 55 simultaneously but in opposite directions each of thecasings 56 has journaled therein a stub shaft 55a which carries a spurpinion 551) which meshes with gear 55. The stub shaft 55a also carries aworm gear 50, which is driven by a worm 6| in one case, and by a Worm 62in the other case. These worms BI and 62 have their helicals inclined inopposite directions and are each mounted within one of the casings 53 ona common shaft 63 which passes through these casings and is keyed to thehub 64 of a crank disc 55 which is snugly but rotatively received in acircular opening 66 in the front wall 61 of the cabinet I0 and to besubstantially flush with this wall so as to be inconspicuous. A handle68 is attached to the disc 65 for convenience in rotating it outwardlywhen it is desired to use it as a the same; and to render the handlealso inconspicuous when not being used, it is adapted to be slid backinto the cabinet as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 through a slot 69 inthe disc 65. The stop 10 on the inner end of the handle limits itsoutward position, as suggested in broken lines in Fig. 3, and a head 1|at the outer end of the handle limits its retracted position and alsoprovides means by which it may be grasped to draw crank.

Similar stops 12 on the lower ends of the ratchet and rack bars maylimit their movement upwardly.

The table may also include a foot rest 13 hinged as at 14 to one end ofthe cabinet. A bail 15 also hinged to the cabinet as at 16 below thefoot rest may engage one of a series of hook formations 11 formed in abracket 18 secured to the under side of the foot rest member 13 tosupport it in adjusted position, as suggested by broken lines in Fig. 2.

Thus, as suggested in Fig. 6, not only may the rest members I2, 3 beangularly related, as shown in the middle diagram of Fig. 6, withoutmoving the pivot point I 5, but also, as shown in the upper and lowerdiagrams of Fig. 6, this pivot point I5 may itself be moved upwardlyeither to place the rest members l2, l3 co-planarly, but at an anglewith respect to the cabinet, or to angularly relate the rest members I2,I3 with these members sloping downwardly from their pivot point as shownin the lower diagram of Fig, 6.

It will be understood that to place the rest members in the position,for example, shown in the lower diagram in Fig. 6, the common pivotpoint of the rest members It and I3 is moved upwardly while the outerends of these rest members, that is, their ends opposite their endsadjacent at the common pivot point, are free to slide on the cabinet toaccommodate these outer ends to the elevation of the central pivot pointl5. It will be understood also that during this sliding movement of theouter ends of the rest members, the ratchet bars are free to moveupwardly and angularly, by reason of the construction described, toaccommodate themselves to this sliding movement of the outer ends of therest members.

In' order to facilitate adjustment of the rest members l2, I3 the top ofthe cabinet may desirably carry anti-friction means such as rollers 19upon which the outer edges of the rest members ride.

Although forming no part of the present invention the rest member |'3may be provided with alternative foot rests such as the conventionalextensible stirrups 80.

The platform I00 formed in the cabinet at one end thereof adjacent thefoot rests, may afford means for the patient to conveniently mount thetable.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a structure of the class described, the combination with a cabinetand rest members carried thereby, of a central rack bar verticallyreciprocal in the cabinet, a common pivot bar to which the adjacent restmembers are pivoted carried by the upper end of said rack bar andmovable vertically therewith toward and from the cabinet while the outerends of said rest members are free to slide on said cabinet, gear meanswithin the cabinet operatively associated with the rack bar including amember accessible on the outer face of the cabinet for reciprocatingsaid rack bar, extension support means spaced longitudinally of thecabinet from the said central rack bar for angularly relating a restmember with respect to the common pivot point of the rest members, saidextension support means including a bar pivoted toa rest member andvertically slidable in the cabinet, a longitudinally elongated slot inthe cabinet receiving the extension support bar therethrough, andmechanism mounted in the cabinet for releasably gripping the extensionsupport bar, said slot and mechanism permitting limited angular movementof the extension support bar whereby the extension support bar may adaptitself to angular positions of the rest member.

2. In a structure of the class described, the combination with a cabinetand a pair of rest members carried thereby, of a straight verticallyextending rack bar verticallyreciprocal in the cabinet and normallyconcealed t-herewithin, common pivot means to which the rest members arepivoted carried by the upper end of said rack bar and movable verticallytherewith toward or elevated from the cabinet while the outer end of therest member is free to slide on said cabinet toward and from saidvertical bar, mechanism substantially concealed within the cabinet butincluding a handle accessible on the outer face of the cabinet forreciprocating said vertical rack bar, and extension support meansoperatively as sociated with the rest members including a memberaccessible on the outer face of the cabinet for angularly relating therest members with respect to their common pivot means independently ofsaid sliding movement of a rest member on the cabinet and when thecommon pivot means is in elevated position.

3. In a structure of the class described, the combination with a cabinetand rest members carried thereby, of a central rack bar verticallyreciprocal in the cabinet, a common pivot bar to which the adjacent restmembers are pivoted carried by the upper end of said rack bar andmovable vertically therewith toward and from the cabinet, a gear trainenclosed within the cabinet, means accessible on the exterior of thecabinet for operating the gear train, a pair of ratchet bar extensionsupports on opposite sides of the central rack bar for angularlyrelating the rest members with respect to their common pivot point,detent means engageable with each of the ratchet bars and including arock shaft common to each pair of detent means, a pair of pawls on eachrock shaft engageable with each of said ratchet bars respectively, aspring operatively associated with each rock shaft and urging the pawlsinto engagement with the ratchet bars, and handles accessible on theexterior of the cabinet for rotating the rock shafts to release thepawls.

4. In a structure of the class described, the combination with a cabinetand rest members carried thereby, of a central rack bar verticallyreciprocal in the cabinet, a common pivot bar to which the adjacent restmembers are pivoted carried by the upper end of said rack bar andmovable vertically therewith toward and from the cabinet, a gear trainenclosed within the cabinet, a crank handle operatively associated withsaid gear train and accessible on the exterior of the cabinet, a pair ofratchet bar extension supports on opposite sides of the central rack barfor angularly relating the rest members with respect to their commonpivot point, detent means engageable with each of the ratchet bars andincluding a rock shaft common to each pair of detent means, a pair ofpawls on each rock shaft engageable with each of said ratchet barsrespectively, a spring operatively associated with each rock shaft andurging the pawls into engagement with the ratchet bars, handlesaccessible on the exterior of the cabinet for rotating the rock shaftsto release the pawls, and yieldable means stronger than the action ofthe first mentioned spring operatively associated with each pawl formanually releasably maintaining the pawls temporarily out of engagementwith the ratchet bars.

5. In an examining table of the class described, the combination with ahollow cabinet support, of a rest member pivoted thereon for receiving apatient in reclining position thereon, a pair of ratchet bars hinged tosaid rest member and depending within the support, a detent mechanismthrough which each bar passes downwardly and providing a releasabledetent against downward movement of the bar while permitting free upwardmovement of the bar, a spring operatively associated with the detentmechanism, a rock shaft carried by the support for manually controllingsaid spring, said rock shaft also pivotally carrying said detentmechanism to permit the latter to adapt itself to variations from thevertical assumed by the said bars following pivotal movement of the restmember and said shaft hav-- ing an end projecting exteriorly of thesupport, and a handle at said end of the rock shaft for rocking theshaft against the action of said spring to release the bars for downwardmovement.

6. In an examining table or the like, the combination with a support, ofa rest member pivoted thereto for receiving a patient in recliningposition thereon, a lifter rod hinged to the rest member and normallysubstantially vertically depending within the support, detent mechanismmounted on the support through which the lifter rod passes for grippingthe lifter rod against downward movement of the lifter rod while permitting free upward movement of the rod, a spring operatively associatedwith the detent mechanism and urging the said mechanism into position togrip the rod against downward movement of the rod, a rock shaft carriedby the support for manually rotating said detent mechanism against theaction of said spring, said detent mechanism being arranged toaccommodate variations from the vertical assumed by the lifter rodfollowing pivotal movement of the rest member on the support andsaidshaft having an end projecting exteriorly of the support, a handleat said end of the rock shaft for rocking the shaft against the actionof said spring to release the lifter rod for downward movement, andelevator means carried by the support for moving the first-mentionedpivot point of the rest member toward and from the support, the restmember thereupon pivoting also on said lifter rod at the hinge point ofthe lifter rod and rest member whereby the lifter rod during upwardmovement of the said first-mentioned pivot point of the rest member mayfollow the rest member upwardly.

ANDREW DEMCAK.

